Ministry: Fundraising for Ministry

Just over a year ago, I left my job to help plant a church in Princeton, New Jersey. I offered myself to the ministry of Jesus at Ecclesia (“eh-kla-SEE-a”), a church that wants to shine the light of Jesus in every corner of Princeton.

Under the direction of Lead Pastor Ian Graham, I have witnessed Ecclesia Church grow from a dozen committed Christians who met in an empty conference room to a collective of more than fifty believers (and growing!) who meet every week in the John Witherspoon Middle School Auditorium to worship God. Through this intentional and invested church body, the Princeton culture is steadily becoming one in which there is a palpable thirst for Jesus.

While I was a seminary student, I worked part-time for Ecclesia Church as a pastor-in-residence. Now that I have finished my degree, I am working fulltime as the Associate Pastor of Worship and Operations. This calling includes leading worship, facilitating community groups, and encouraging continued spiritual formation. God is doing incredible things through this congregation. I am called to see lives changed. I am called to find hope. I am called to this movement of people living the full life that Jesus offers. But as a church plant, Ecclesia has limited funds and can only support half of my salary.

I am asking for your partnership, to invest in my work of fulltime ministry on a part-time paycheck through prayer and financial consideration. I am asking you to pray for Gabrielle and me as we step into a new season of life in which we are entirely dependent on the provision of the Lord through the generosity of our friends and family. I am asking you to help pay our rent, put food on our table, and pay back some of the accrued debt involved in pursuing a call to ministry. In order to meet our basic needs, I am asking for a total of $18,000 by July 31, 2020. Your kindness will support my first commitment into fulltime ministry, the continued growth of Ecclesia Church, and the continued transformation of lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

If you are ready to partner with me now,

I encourage you to make a tax-deductible donation.

If you would like to learn more about my work with Ecclesia Church, please visit our website. “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” (Ephesians 4:11-12)

Click here to partner with me!

Blessings, Tom Dearduff